


Progress

by sweetsun



Series: Hargreeves brothers trying their best [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Memories, Diego's a good brother, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Klaus is trying, Protective Diego Hargreeves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 02:56:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17952353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetsun/pseuds/sweetsun
Summary: Klaus tries to reach out, clumsily, like he always does. Diego's here to help.





	Progress

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! Had to write something about these two - loved the dynamic between Diego and Klaus on the show.  
> I guess this would have happened before the show starts, as Eudora never died and Klaus is not sober yet. 
> 
> (English is not my first language, apologies for any mistakes that might be in there!)

Sometimes Diego couldn’t help it.

He would hear about Klaus and think about the way his brother used to be.

He’d forget about the abuse they’d been through as kids, he’d forget about the fights they had – he’d forget about the way it all went downhill, the first time he had found Klaus drunk on a sidewalk, the first time he had found pills in his backpack. He’d forget about his unfocused gaze, his sweaty forehead and the dry vomit on his jumper. He’d forget how many time Klaus had fucked up after that.

Instead, he chose to remember his brother as the funny, insolent kid who drove them mad – but always made them laugh. He remembered the way he used to dress up with Allison, put on red lipstick messily over his mouth, and run down to their bedrooms, dancing and singing in a terrible fashion. He’d get in trouble with Dad for it – but he didn’t seem to care at all.

Diego chose to remember the _genuine_ smile Klaus carried around whenever that happened, because that was all he could do. He couldn’t stand the haunting look in Klaus’ eyes, or the way his mind always seemed to be miles away. It just seemed to mirror his failure. He had _failed_ to protect Klaus, no matter how hard he had tried, no matter how many rehabs he had sent him to.

 _Your brother came down to the station. Could use some help,_ he had read from Eudora’s text.

Perhaps he should just give up on hope, like his brothers did. Like his sisters did. Just let Klaus live on his life, as dreadful as it could be. He had tried before, tried to stop caring, tried to stop asking Eudora if she’d heard anything about a curly-haired junkie. But every time he’d tried – his little brother came back in his mind, smiling at him so innocently, so pure and happy.

That little brother was in trouble – and Diego would never give up on him.

He put on his jacket and headed out of his apartment.

 

 

After a short talk with Detective Patch, Diego entered the office she had pointed. _He has seen worse,_ she had said. _Doesn’t seem too far off._ He opened the door to find Klaus wheeling around in a desk chair – he stopped as soon as he heard Diego’s footsteps, turned around and welcomed him with a phony smile.

“Oh hello there, dear brother of mine!”

Diego didn’t smile back. He came closer to his brother, kneeling down to have a better look at him. Messy curls were stuck to his face, so Diego pushed them away gently. Klaus was staring at him, probably surprised by the softness of his gesture.  His look seemed more focused than usual, but he looked on the verge of crying. Not that he’d want anyone to notice – he looked away quickly. Diego thought about his brother’s smile again. How he wished he could put it back on his face.

“Are you okay?” Diego asked quietly.

Klaus blinked. People usually didn’t ask him how he was feeling. Maybe because they knew he wasn’t okay, maybe because they knew he’d answer with some high quality bullshit.

“Oh, how sweet is it of you to care,” he answered. “I’m always alright!”

Diego sighed. Of course Klaus had to make this difficult.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay before yelling at you – did anyone hurt you?”  

His tone was a bit sharper this time. Klaus seemed to get it. Diego might be mad – he was mad most of the time, to be fair – but he’d be madder if anyone had laid a finger on his brother. _For once in your life, please be serious_ , said Ben, sitting on the desk next to him. He could do him the favor.

Klaus shook his head.

“I’m fine,” he muttered.  Diego shot him a piercing look. “I promise.” he added.    

The heaviness on Diego’s heart became lighter, the knot in his stomach slowly disappeared. His brother was fine. Well – as fine as he could be.

“Good,” he paused. “Now, tell me. What the hell did you have in mind, coming down here?”

He was trying to keep his voice down, trying to hide his anger. Angry at Klaus for hurting himself, angry at himself for not being able to stop him.

“Getting drunk and high is one thing – Eudora’s putting her job at risk to save your ass from getting you arrested, you know that?”

“I like Eudora,” Klaus mumbled, looking away from his brother’s angry eyes. “Quite pretty as well, isn’t she?”

“That’s not the point,” Diego sighed. “But if you like her, stay out of trouble – or at least, keep her out of it. You could have called me.”

“Well – I don’t really have a phone anymore,” he chuckled. “That’s why – “  

Diego was getting impatient. “For fuck’s sake, Klaus, I gave you one last time –“ 

He was cut off before he had a chance to finish.

“Listen to me for once – I’m trying to explain, alright?” Klaus yelled.

Silence fell over the room. Diego gestured at his brother, allowing him to continue. If he had decided to be serious, he’d listen. That’s all he had ever wanted.

“I came here,” Klaus paused, trying to get his act together. “Because I thought about what you said last time. You told me – ” the words were getting stuck in his throat.

Diego raised his eyebrows. He had said many, many things that day, in that hospital room, visiting his brother after yet another overdose. He had been consumed by anger; he had been terrified of losing another family member.

“You told me you didn’t want to find me dead in an alley – and I thought you were right. As much as I wouldn’t mind dying, it wouldn’t be fair to you,” he said.

That sentence had sent shivers down Diego’s spine.

“I was in a pretty bad place and – the best idea my foggy mind came up with was to come get help before I did something even more stupid. Thought you’d be here, or that pretty Patch could call you. I didn’t think about the consequences – sorry.”

 _Fuck_. It hurt to hear the pain in Klaus’ voice, it hurt to hear his confession. It hurt to hear what his brother was going through. But something came out of it – something that sounded like hope.

Klaus had reached out.

It wasn’t the right thing yet – but it was a step forward. It was a cry for help.

Maybe Klaus trusted him now. Maybe he had realized that Diego would show up every single time – no matter how many times he would try to push him away, no matter how much he fucked up.

“Listen – Klaus, look at me.” Tears were running down is brother’s face. “I’m proud of you.”

“For what?” Klaus sniffed. “For being a junkie or for bothering your lady friend?”

“For doing the right thing,” Diego offered him a hand, getting his brother to stand up. Once he was on his feet, Diego couldn’t help but give Klaus a warm embrace, running his hand through his hair quickly. He thought about how glad he was that he still had a brother to hug.

Klaus hang on to him for a bit, before giggling and whispering “You’re kind of strong for a teddy bear.”  

“If you tell anyone about this, I’ll throw a knife at you”, Diego said, as serious as he could sound. He pretended he hadn’t felt his heart warm up at the sound of his brother’s laugh. It was progress. “Now come on, let’s get you home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Please, feel free to leave some comments, always good to hear how you feel about this! :)  
> I also give a go at prompts every once in a while, in case you have something on your mind.


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